Synthetic cannabis linked to eighth New Zealand death<\/h3>\n

A string of recent deaths in New Zealand is being attributed to the rise of so-called synthetic cannabis.<\/p>\n

A man in his 20 died on Tuesday night, bringing the number of fatalities this month linked to the illegal substance to eight.<\/p>\n

The drug consists of dried plants sprayed with synthetic drugs – it triggers effects similar to cannabis but is more powerful and dangerous.<\/p>\n

Synthetic cannabis has already caused huge concerns in the US and Europe.<\/p>\n

In each of the eight deaths this month, the victim was thought to have used the drug before dying or was found with the drug on them.<\/p>\n

The actual substance in the drug responsible for the deaths is not yet known.<\/p>\n

All eight deaths have occurred in Auckland and authorities say there is a much higher number of non-fatal cases where people had to be taken to hospital.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the Auckland City District Police issued\u00a0a warning on Facebook\u00a0over the drug use and the apparent link to the rising number of victims.<\/p>\n

“This is not an issue unique to Auckland,” the statement warned. “Police are also concerned at the impact of synthetic cannabis in other communities in New Zealand.”<\/p>\n

Auckland police also took the rare step of releasing CCTV footage of a man violently ill and barely able to stand after smoking synthetic cannabis.<\/p>\n

“We have grave concerns as users don’t know what poisonous chemicals they are potentially putting into their bodies when they’re smoking this drug,” Det Insp Lendrum said.<\/p>\n

\n
• Actual cannabis contains an active ingredient which interacts with certain receptors in the brain.<\/li>\n
• Synthetic cannabis is dried plant matter sprayed with chemicals that interact with the same receptors.<\/li>\n
• Produced and sold illegally, the chemicals used vary a lot. That means the effect of the drug is a lot less predictable, so a lot more dangerous.<\/li>\n
• Effects can be extreme, including increased heart rates, seizures, psychosis, kidney failure and strokes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Cannabis-simulating substances – or synthetic cannabinoids – were developed more than 20 years ago in the US for testing on animals as part of a brain research programme.<\/p>\n

  But in the last decade or so they’ve become widely available to the public.<\/p>\n

  Synthetic cannabis was briefly legal in New Zealand but was banned in 2014.<\/p>\n

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  Synthetic cannabis linked to eighth New Zealand death A string of recent deaths in New Zealand is being attributed to the rise of so-called synthetic cannabis. A man in his 20 died on Tuesday night, bringing the number of fatalities this month linked to the illegal substance to eight. The drug consists of dried plants […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":17059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[5090],"tags":[2752],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n